Evans opened the forum with a slide presentation showing statistics about opiate abuse and sought to debunk the myth that heroin and prescription drug abuse are not a major problems.

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According to Evans, prescription medication abuse accounts for two-thirds of all drug-related deaths in the nation with one out of every six people in the Lorain County using prescription medication for non-medical purposes.

"Ohio is leading the nation in drug overdose deaths and the numbers are just staggering," said Evans. "This is not just a city-wide problem nor is it a county-wide issue. It's a national epidemic to where there appears to be no end in sight."

Evans said people taking prescription medication often times turn to heroin once their physicians no longer offer them prescriptions.

"Prescription medication is just heroin in pill-form so it's easy to get addicted to them despite popular belief," said Evans. "When people are no longer are able to get the pills they desire, most times they switch to heroin because it can easily be picked up on the streets without a script and at a much cheaper cost."

Deaths related to drug abuse have nearly tripled in Lorain County, with 60 deaths reported in 2012, up from 22 deaths previously reported in 2011. Evans said the county is once again expected to once again have a record number of deaths this year attributed to drug abuse.

"I'm the one who sees the end result which is something other doctors and drug companies don't see," said Evans. "People need to become educated about the risk of using opiates, we need to be advocates for drug abuse prevention, and we need to clean up our community, neighborhoods, schools, and most importantly our medicine cabinets for the safety of ourselves and our loved ones."

The audience rose to their feet following the words of two of the forum's speakers, Eric R. and Lisa T., who delivered heartfelt accounts of how drug addiction affected them. Eric, an Avon Lake resident, said his long-time struggle with drugs occurred after he was taken off prescription medication following multiple hernia surgeries. Lisa recalled her family's battle after her daughter, Lexi, revealed that she was addicted to heroin.

"After two years of taking opiates prescribed by my doctor, I turned to the streets to buy them. I began to lie to people and steal from my family and friends just to get some money for drugs," said Eric. "I became so desperate for drugs that I would hop from hospital to hospital complaining of pains I didn't even have. I ended up losing a good job and marriage because of my addiction and finally realized it was time to push aside my shame and seek help."

Evans concluded by stating that drug companies, the government, the medical community, and the public are at fault for the nation's drug abuse problems, but stated that the entities are also the solution to the epidemic.

"We are a society of pill poppers who take prescription medication to gain weight, lose weight, for anxiety, and for a ton of other reasons," said Evans. "We need to start using prescription medication the way they are designed to be used and with caution. We need to look out for our family, our friends, our neighbors and anybody else who may be exposed to drugs so that we can catch the problem before it becomes something completely out of our control."

Zilka announced that the city will continue to work with SOLACE Lorain County, the Lorain County Drug Addiction Services Board, the Avon Lake City School District, Psych and Psych Services, and several other local organization to continue raising awareness of the issue and identify individuals in need of help.

Another meeting to discuss the drug addiction will be take place Aug. 13 at the Avon Lake Public Library.